Children are born from the flesh and blood of their parents.Without parents there would be no children. Yet people in this
world shout out for individualism as though they came into
this world on their own. Only a person who receives no help whatsoever
from anyone at all would have the right to speak of individualism.
There is nothing in this world that comes into being for its own sake
alone. All created beings are created for one another. I exist for you, and
you exist for me.
There is no one as foolish as the selfish person who lives only for his
or her own sake. It may appear that a selfish life benefits the individual,
but ultimately it is a life of self-destruction. The individual must live for
the family, the family for the people, the people for the world, and the
world for God.
All the schools I have founded have three mottos. The first is
“Live a life that casts no shadows, as if you were under the sun at
high noon.” A life without shadows is a life with a clear conscience.
When we finish our life here on earth and go to the spirit world, our
entire life will unfold before us, as though it were being played back
on videotape. Whether we go to heaven or to hell is determined by
how we live. So we need to live spotlessly clean lives, casting not
even the smallest shadow.
The second motto is “Live shedding sweat for earth, tears for humanity,
and blood for heaven.” There are no lies in the blood, sweat,
and tears that people shed. There is only truth. There is no meaning,
however, in the blood, sweat, and tears that a person sheds for his own
sake. This great investment must be shed for the sake of others.
The final motto is “One Family under God!” There is only one God,
and all human beings are brothers and sisters. Differences of language,
race, and culture account for only 0.1 percent. As human beings, we are
99.9 percent the same.
There are fourteen island countries in the South Pacific. When I visited
the Marshall Islands, I asked its president, “This is a beautiful land,
but it must still be difficult to lead this country, isn’t it?” The president
sighed and replied, “Our population is just sixty thousand, and the land
is just two meters (78 inches) above sea level on average. So a wave just
one meter (39 inches) high can flood much of the country. Our most
serious problem, though, is education. Children of rich families go to
America or Europe to be educated and do not return. Children of poor
families have no schools from which to receive a good education, so
even the brightest child cannot be trained properly for leadership. The
concern for an island country such as ours is that we are unable to raise
up leaders who will lead us in the future.”
After hearing his lament, I established the High School of the Pacific,
in Kona, Hawaii, for the sake of the children of these island countries.
This school provides secondary education to children from countries
throughout the Pacific and helps them apply to college. We provide
round-trip airfare to Hawaii, tuition, board, and even computers so
that they can receive the best education. We attach just one condition
to receive this education: Once they finish, they must return to their
countries and work in the service of their nation and its people. Living
for the sake of others requires sacrifices from time to time. Some years
ago one of our church missionaries was touring South America when
the place he was visiting was hit by a major earthquake. His wife came
running to me with her face as white as a sheet.
“What should I do?” she asked with tears in her eyes. “I’m so worried,
I don’t know what to do.”
You might be surprised by my response. Instead of patting her on the
shoulder and comforting her, I shouted at her, “Are you worried about
your husband, or are you worried about how many lives he may be able
to save in that disaster area?”
It was natural for her to be concerned for her husband’s safety. But
because she was the wife of a missionary, her concerns should have been
of a higher order. Rather than pray for her husband’s safety, she should
have prayed that her husband could save as many lives as possible.
Nothing exists for its own sake. That is not how God created the
world. Man exists for the sake of woman, and woman exists for the sake
of man. Nature exists for the sake of humanity, and humanity exists for
the sake of nature. All created beings in this world exist for the sake of
their counterparts. It is an axiom of Heaven that every being lives for
the sake of its partner.
Happiness is possible only in a relationship with a partner. Imagine
that some fellow who has lived his life as a singer goes to an uninhabited
island and sings as loudly as possible. If there is no one there to hear
him, he will not be happy. To realize that we exist for the sake of others
is the great achievement that changes our lives. When we realize that
our life is not ours alone but is meant to be for the sake of the other, we
begin to follow a path different from the one we were on.
Just as singing to yourself will not make you happy, there is no joy
without a partner. Even the smallest and most trivial thing can bring
you happiness when you do it for another.
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